Bottoms Up: Portafilters Take Turns
Behold the bottomless portafilter. About four years ago, some smart barista decided to cut the spouts off of the traditional portafilter used for brewing espresso, and it caused quite a stir. More gas expansion! More crema! Higher volumes! Better tastes?
I haven't been able to perceive a difference between the two, but I prefer the bottomless as a trainer; I find it invaluable. Any missteps along the way in shot preparation are seen directly in the extraction, and can then be diagnosed. Overextraction, underextraction, channeling - all are easily visible.
Also, it is just plain beautiful. Streaming earth tones start at a drip and coalesce into a cone. Mesmerizing.
At Gimme!, we use bottomless portafilters in every retail store. Perhaps because of this, lately I've felt an aesthetic nostalgia for the spouted portafilter, akin to my nostalgia for landline telephones.
I wonder how other baristas, home or professional, feel about their portafilters. Is it one or the other? Do you switch back and forth? Using a bottomless, the first thing the espresso hits is your cup, rather than the metal of the spouts. Does this cause unnecessry heat loss? Do you prefer the higher volumes that bottomless portafilters yield, or do you find them too gassy?
In the end, I suspect it depends on the coffee.
Also, it is just plain beautiful. Streaming earth tones start at a drip and coalesce into a cone. Mesmerizing. At Gimme!, we use bottomless portafilters in every retail store. Perhaps because of this, lately I've felt an aesthetic nostalgia for the spouted portafilter, akin to my nostalgia for landline telephones.I wonder how other baristas, home or professional, feel about their portafilters. Is it one or the other? Do you switch back and forth? Using a bottomless, the first thing the espresso hits is your cup, rather than the metal of the spouts. Does this cause unnecessry heat loss? Do you prefer the higher volumes that bottomless portafilters yield, or do you find them too gassy?
In the end, I suspect it depends on the coffee.
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Lindsay May 6, 2009 – 9:44 AM
I agree completely with all the benefits if a bottomless portafilter- for my own enjoyment- I love the beauty- for training, you can show the baristas exactly the moment a shot whites out-spouted filters are nice and remind me of the "old days" but I think bottomless is the way to go from now on!
Laura May 6, 2009 – 10:57 AM
When I worked as a barista several years ago, we switched to the bottomless when they were first marketed. I believe we actually got them through Gimme Coffee. We loved the difference! It was much easier to pull a correct shot when you could see it so clearly and yes, the beauty of the espresso is incomparable. I think it tasted better, but that may have been my mind saying, "It looks better, so it must taste better!" Plus without having all that extra metal underneath, we were able to fit the cups under the portafilter and pull it directly into the cups. No transfer. The less you disturb the crema, the better the final product. If I ever work as a barista again, I will use them hands down!
Ryan May 6, 2009 – 11:28 AM
I actually like texture of a shot pulled through the spouts. The spouted portafilter also retains more heat because there's more brass there.
However... it is way easier to keep a bottomless portafilter clean and dry. I tend to make more of a mess with the spouted, due to excess rinse water dribbling out of the spouts when removing from the group.
I have an idea that I haven't seen implemented... glass spouts that are a separate piece and sit on the drip tray in between the bottomless portafilter and the shot glasses. This way you get visibility and still have the ability to split shots.